What kinds of characters will we play? How do you put an adventuring party together? And will someone PLEASE be a healer?! In this pregame, we share character ideas, talk about party composition, and unequivocally agree that bards are bad.
Housekeeping
- Schedule: This pregame to our second campaign continues with weekly world-building episodes continue for the next three weeks. Then, on April 7, 2020, Episode 1 debuts.
- Patreon: Join by March 31, 2020 to get your name recorded forever in the credits of Episode 1! Check out our new tiers and become a member at patreon.com/jointhepartypod.
Multitude
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Cast & Crew
- Dungeon Master: Eric Silver
- Co-Host, Co-Producer, Editor, Sound Designer, Composer: Brandon Grugle
- Co-Host, Co-Producer, Editor: Julia Schifini
- Co-Host, Co-Producer: Amanda McLoughlin
- Creative Consultant: Connor McLoughlin
- Multitude: multitude.productions
About Us
Join the Party is a collaborative storytelling and roleplaying podcast, powered by the rules of Dungeons and Dragons. That means a group of friends create a story together, chapter by chapter, that takes us beyond the tabletop to parts unknown. In the first campaign, we explored fantasy adventure, intrigue, magic, and drama. In the newest story, we tackle science, superpowers, a better future, and the responsibility to help others.
Every month, we sit down for the Afterparty, where we break down our game and answer your questions about how to play D&D and other roleplaying games at home. We also have segments at the beginning of each campaign to teach people how to play the game themselves. It’s a party, and you’re invited! Find out more at jointhepartypod.com.
Transcript
Amanda: Yo, friends, welcome. I was trying something else. I don't – I guess won’t do it.
Brandon: I, I don't do well with change. Could you?
Julia: Yes.
Amanda: Hey, hi. Hello. Welcome to the Pregame.
Eric: Hey.
Julia: Hey.
Brandon: Hey, hello.
Amanda: It's your friends at Joined the Party. And we're going to talk about who we're going to play in the next campaign and what class those people are going to be. Hello. That's what I got. I'm really excited about my character.
Eric: I am so ready for this. This is amazing. And we're going to do it. And the party is gonna happen. And it’s had – oh, this is my favorite part. I spend so much time looking at characters that can be played. And, like, if you guys don't do it, I just turn them into NPC. So, like, honestly, it's fine.
Amanda: Great.
Eric: I think there is someone who I don't think any of you touched. And I'm going to put it in the – I, I try to push it out to you all so hard. And this is my tease for the future. But, like, I don't think any of you are going to do it, but I'm definitely gonna make them an NPC if you don't.
Julia: Oh, now, I want to know which character it was.
Eric: I'll tell you.
Julia: Yes, tell me.
Eric: If one of you say it during this session --
Julia: Okay.
Eric: -- I will tell you. But, if you don't, I will bring it up later.
Julia: Okay.
Eric: So, today we're going to talk about what the characters are going to be. We’re gonna talk a lot of D&D mechanics, a lot of classes and subclasses. I'm going to talk about party composition and what might make the best Dungeon & Dragons Podcast party. And then, at the end, we are going to reaffirm everything about the future of the podcast and what the podcast is going to look like. Let's talk about party composition. We kind of just went into the first season being like, “Hey, what do you want to play?” I guess we should all figure out a way to do this. And, like, none of you had any healing spells.
Julia: That's – oh, my god. As, as a listener and as your friend, I was so nervous the entire campaign, because none of you could heal.
Eric: It all kind of, like, resolved itself, because, eventually, Johnny could heal in some sort of way or, at least, resurrect. And then TR8C and Anara eventually got like half damage things. Both of you got half damage things.
Brandon: I also had a healing spell eventually. It just didn't --
Eric: When you became an artificer. Yeah. So, I thought – I’m like, “Yeah, they're fine.” But I remember those first episodes, we got tweets. You’re like, “You guys are gonna die.” And I'm like, “I'm not gonna let them die. It's okay.”
Julia: I was very worried.
Eric: We just killed the god of death. It's fine.
Amanda: So --
Brandon: Spoilers!
Eric: This is March. This is March, Brandon.
Brandon: No, for me!
Eric: You killed – you killed the god of death. That was you. You were there.
Brandon: Okay.
Amanda: So, what is the traditional wisdom about how you put together a balanced D&D party? I've heard people say things like tank or, like, punchy person, like healer. What is the prevailing wisdom?
Julia: A punchy person is definitely the-- “Chaaa!”
Eric: Well pronounced?
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Preferred term.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: I also read this morning about a face. Is that something that you've ever heard of too, Eric?
Eric: Yes.
Brandon: Interesting.
Amanda: In scams, Brandon? My favorite subjects?
Julia: Well, The Face is a good guy in Wrestling.
Eric: Exactly. So, I'm going to talk about what the ideal five-person party is. The first is the tank. And the tank means you take a lot of damage. This is the Barbarian that literally has a feature that says I can take half damage. This might be the monk who has super high AC. They are going to be the ones in front of all the enemies. And the enemies are going to focus on them and will get resurrected and healed as necessary. The person who is next to the tank is the close damage person. So, this could be a fighter.
Amanda: Punchy friend.
Eric: The punchy friend.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: This is usually the fighter. It could also be a monk. A monk is very diverse. You should all be monks. I love monks so much. They're the ones who are doing sword or axe or punch damage. And it's important to have someone who's engaging with people right upfront. Then you have the AOE or area of effect or – what's the other term when you're doing --
Brandon: DPS.
Eric: DPS. Thank you. If you're playing an MMORPG, it's called DPS, damage per second. This is going to be the – your spell caster or your range person. So, maybe it's a wizard or a sorcerer or, like, a really, really specific type of ranger that does damage from afar but takes damage easily. Then you have your support, which is going to be your healer. So, your cleric, your Druid. Someone who's going to heal your party or buff them so that they will not get hurt as much. And then you have the wild card. So, the wild card is usually the Bard, who does other things that might not be – who might be like a Jack of all trades sort of thing or does non-combat important things. So, when you're talking about a face, a face is the person with the highest charisma --
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: -- who roles the persuasion checks and the intimidation checks and all that stuff. It's usually the Bard who is too busy like fucking everything to remember how to do spells.
Brandon: Gross.
Eric: Yeah, I hate bards.
Brandon: Bards suck.
Eric: Hate bards. Love monks. That's my DM-ing peeve.
Julia: Hmm.
Eric: So, that's a ideal five-person party. Four-person party, you can kind of drop the face or the wild card. Maybe that gets rolled into somebody else. You have a very charismatic fighter. So, maybe you might have, like, more of a knight character. Or maybe your cleric has a lot of persuasion. Or maybe you do have a rogue, who kind of does damage. And maybe you have that wild card and also they are responsible for all of the public interactions that you have. So, for a three-person party, I think that the tank or the punchy person are usually the same. You have one person who's upfront if you're fighting. You need a support person, which is our problem with the first season of Join the Party. You kind of need a cleric or a druid who can, like, buff other people. And then you might have a wild card. I wanted all of you to think about what sort of class archetype you are. And then maybe we can really make sure we distribute. So, we have a punchy person or a tank. And we have a damage dealer. And we have support. I think everyone should do one at a time – like each person does one and we’ll go around in a circle, because, really, this is like our ideation session.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: We're all bringing three classes and subclasses, which relate to a character they could be and how this might fit together as a party. But this is like our pool that everyone can pick from. It's like everyone who brought it has first dibs, but there should be a chance for everyone to start thinking about what's cool, game-wise. So, I think we should roll for it. This is our first roll of Season II.
Brandon: Okay. Let's see if my luck carries on.
Eric: Oh.
Amanda: Oh, no.
Julia: Are you kidding me?
Brandon: First roll, on the floor. Did you get that 20?
Amanda: I’m gonna – I’m gonna tell you what’s on the floor.
Brandon: That counts. That counts.
Amanda: Okay. So, Julia.
Julia: Huh.
Brandon: I got a five.
Julia: What did you get?
Brandon: I got a five.
Julia: I got a three. So --
Amanda: So, that means I get to choose what position I get, right?
Eric: That's true. I’m gonna get --
Amanda: I want to go last.
Eric: All right. Well, choose the order.
Amanda: Let's go Julia, Brandon, and me.
Eric: All right.
Julia: So, this is my tank and also my damage dealer, I suppose.
Eric: Your punchy friend.
Julia: My punchy friend. So, I went with a barbarian. Specifically, the Path of the Battlerager.
Eric: Mhmm.
Amanda: Mhmm.
Julia: Which is, I believe, Sword Coast.
Eric: Yes, it's from SCAG --
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: -- for every you – all of you playing at home.
Julia: So, my idea for the character, especially now that we've kind of established our city and our universe, is tiny baby punk rock with leather jacket covered in spikes, because it – typically, in D&D, the Path of the Battlerager always has spiked armor on.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: And they're the kind of character that just – they go into a rage. And then they throw themselves into the middle of the fight.
Amanda: Cool.
Julia: And no one wants to deal with the, the spiky small person getting in the middle of everything.
Amanda: Great.
Julia: And I really like the idea of – because we're talking about how our characters were affected because they were at this lake that’s like a timeshare or like a vacation house or something like that, I really want them to be like the child of a mob enforcer --
Amanda: Yes, Julia.
Julia: -- where the dad was down in the city dealing with other stuff. And, so, the mom and the kid went up for the vacation. So, the mom and the kid were affected --
Amanda: They’re good.
Julia: -- but not the dad.
Eric: Wow.
Julia: And, so, the parents, later on, separate because the mother decides to go up and, you know, live in the new city --
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: -- with all the other powered people.
Eric: Right. Because she has to stay up there.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: If there is that quarantine, she has to stay there, but he can't leave.
Julia: Yes. And, so, they decided to stay with the mom and become townies in our city.
Eric: Here's a really interesting thing about this. It’s that, traditionally, the battle – and, in D&D lore, traditionally, they need to be dwarves only.
Julia: Which is why I want --
Eric: So, she’s --
Julia: -- them to be tiny.
Eric: And like – but, like, very Italian too.
Julia: Yes.
Eric: So, they’re --
Julia: Italian tiny person.
Eric: I love that. Just some cool features of this. So, the Battlerager armor does damage to people while you are making weapon attacks.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: And you can use your armor as a weapon. So, that's really cool. And then you have something at level six, which is reckless abandon. So, when you use your reckless attack, which is what barbarians do, you get temporary hit points equal to your constitution modifier. You're going to be like a super stocky little friend. And then you're also gonna have extra hit points on top of that.
Julia: Yeah, I pictured them with brass knuckles going into fights.
Eric: Wooh!
Julia: And, also, if we're gonna give our characters superpowers if I'm comparing it to another superhero --
Eric: Mhmm.
Julia: I'm picturing Cannonball from the X-Men.
Eric: Yeah.
Julia: Where they just start kind of like vibrating and then everything just like zooms forward. And then they're in the middle of the fight doing their thing.
Eric: That is extremely good.
Julia: Thank you.
Amanda: I like that a lot.
Eric: Hey, Julia. I don't know if you listened to Join the Party before, but we did have a barbarian.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: But I think this is very different than TR8C --
Julia: Yes.
Eric: -- in so many ways. In my head, like TR8C was more of an artificer --
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: -- because he had nerfed himself with his switch.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: So, it's like a reluctant barbarian is so different than like a willing barbarian. Totally different things. Also, like, using rage as a positive thing.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: It's like that's, like, some punk aesthetic. I love that.
Julia: Tiny baby anarchist.
Eric: It’s amazing. We're also going to come back to race --
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: -- and how that is going to apply. But I’m going to talk about that after --
Julia: Sure.
Eric: -- class. So –
Amanda: After class.
Eric: I have – I have big thoughts. So, we'll come back to that.
Amanda: In the after-class party.
Eric: Office hours with DM Eric, I sit backwards on the chair. All right. Brandon, what’d you got?
Brandon: So, I sort of thought about what, like, sort of superhero archetype I wanted to embody and then what, what class would – might go along with that. So, a little bit in the reverse direction. But the first one I want to talk about, I think, is either like a DPS or a bit of a wild card. But this sort of idea of having someone who has, like, either multiple past lives or just multiple people in one person. So, something sort of like Legion on the one side or, on the other side, something more traditional like shapeshifter, whether it be like with animals or spirits or whatever it be. So, some of the ones I was looking at was the Circle of the Shepherd --
Amanda: Mhmm.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: -- which is a druid. And then another one I was looking at is a monk. It's a Homebrew monk. It's called Way of the Shifting Form. It's sort of along the same lines.
Eric: Oh, that is interesting, because that's the one – and I'm not taking from D&D wiki, from all of you nerds out there. This is, like, vetted stuff from our Unearthed Arcana, which is this Subreddit that has a lot of this stuff. And I like that monk because it reminds me of you change into animals and, like, that's your fighting, which is very different in my head than wild shaping.
Julia: Beast Boy
Eric: Yeah, like Beast Boy. Thank you. Or, in the game, Sentinels of the Multiverse, there's, like, another --
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: -- person. And it's always like very African inspired, which is kind of bullshit. But, like, I think it is interesting that your power is fighting as animals.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: Instead of changing into animals to – because of your connection to nature.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: That's cool.
Brandon: And then, on the other side of that – so, I love that idea of the animal changing. On the other side, it's more like there's a rogue archetype sort of this path as well. But, like, suddenly I realized that I've had past lives.
Amanda: Mhmm.
Brandon: And all of those past lives, people from my past lives might have some abilities or powers that I can start to channel.
Amanda: I read about that. I think they are really cool.
Julia: Mhmm.
Brandon: Yeah. So, that could be like in the death space. Or it could also be just like on the Legion space, where it's multiple personalities, more than one person or whatever it is. But, yeah, I thought that was interesting.
Amanda: I think that could be really interesting in terms of, like, in geographically centered death-related power. People don't have to necessarily have died in the inciting incident.
Brandon: Right.
Amanda: But it could be something tied to, like, picking up stuff that otherwise wouldn't be discernible about people who have died in that area.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: That's interesting. We might, like, think about a grave domain cleric or something else. There's like a twilight domain as well. Like the edge between living and dead, that is also interesting. So, maybe there's an opportunity. We don't even know what class Brandon might end up going with. We’re throwing a bunch to the wall.
Brandon: Yeah. I think, within the character space, I think a lot of my ideas have a similar vein of, like, the character I think I want to portray as a person is sort of like they accept and like their powers, but it's not what they expected necessarily.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: So, it's like, on one side, it could be like, “Well, I can turn into a fox,” but like, “What good is that?”
Eric: Right.
Brandon: Or, on the other side, it's like I have people, in my head occasionally, that, like, tell me how to do a Math problem. And there's more that I can talk about. But, like, they're – they're great. And they like it. And they're trying to hone it and figure out what to do with it, but they don't know exactly why or what they can do with it.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: That reminds me of a meme that's been going around from the original X-Men movie. That Rogue is like, “Oh, well, maybe they can finally cure our powers.” And then Storm steps up and is like, “There's nothing wrong with us.” And then, below that, it's like, “Yeah, the woman who could make lightning talks to the woman who can't touch people.” So, I like that. That, like, even if it is a power and can be harnessed, like, it sucks for your day-to-day life.
Julia: Mhmm.
Brandon: Yeah. And I don't want it to make it like – I don't want it to suck from day-to-day life. I just want it to be like, well, I have this thing. I don't know. You have one really strong left arm. You're like, “Well, this is kind of cool. But, like, what do I do with it?”
Amanda: Right.
Julia: Yeah, turning into a fox is not gonna help you get a job.
Brandon: Yeah, exactly.
Amanda: Yeah. But, from a character journey perspective, I think that, like, sets you up for a lot of kind of room to grow and play.
Brandon: Yeah. Cool.
Eric: I'm gonna have to take a look at that homebrew again, but I really liked it. I remember sending that to you.
Brandon: I’ll sock it to you.
Amanda: Sock it to me.
Brandon: Sock it to me. All right. Amanda, what have you got?
Amanda: So, I approach this from Somalia; like a character personality perspective. And I really just want to play the opposite of Anara, not because I don't love her but because I want to challenge myself and do something different in this campaign. So, for me, that means, like, very inextricably tied emotionally but also geographically to the location. So, I wanted to have someone who, like, knows a trade, who, like, knows the city very well. And I don't know if we're going to end up adventuring outside of the city, but that's where I wanted to start. And, also, we have been developing and just like thinking on these ideas as we've been finishing the office. And I realized that, like, I'm inextricable from my, like, Irish bricklaying roots. So, I really want to play like the super of a building and someone who just, like, knows that particular building, the tools. Like a kind of multi-skilled person who's, like, weapons and skills are, like, handyman-isms and repairs. So, in terms of trying to find a class to suit that, I think there is a version where you can deal damage with this stuff, but also more of a kind of healing and support role, both for the party and also for like, you know, the problems that we run into, like, around us. So, what I think could be really interesting is – I don’t know who I’ll start with. Ugh, I have so many.
Eric: Just in terms of how – what we talked about in the previous episode. Like you can be the custodian or the groundskeeper of the historic district.
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: Like, it can't be that much. Like, how many buildings is it? If we're talking about the super of New York City apartment, that's like – let's say 20 apartments. I can't imagine there's more than like 20 or 30 houses in the historic district.
Amanda: Yeah. So, I think there's a version where it's like, you know, groundskeeper for the area. I think there's also a version where it's more kind of like diplomatic. Like, maybe it's a Community Association President --
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: -- or something or a leader.
Eric: Totally be both by the way. Like --
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: -- both of those do not feel like full-time jobs.
Amanda: No, it definitely could be. And then I think there's also something where it's more like a self-appointed kind of like historian or chronicler or like carrying forward of, like, this community, this incident that people who have died, like, just feeling as if you have to kind of be responsible for them and carry their will forward.
Eric: I will say I like that it's real, because if we – everything we talked about that this is a government act from the state or the country, like, making this historical district. There will be a job there.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: Yes.
Eric: So, you can be a public servant.
Amanda: Yeah. So, let's start with that then. I think, Mr. Monk, that it could be interesting to have a, a tranquility monk.
Eric: Uh-huh.
Julia: Mmmm.
Amanda: So, this is a monk that kind of – it's from UA – prizes, nonviolence as like the primary decision making and like conflict solving method. And, like, violence is the absolute last resort. So, you use diplomacy, mercy, and understanding to resolve conflicts, but you're also – if necessary, you can put violence to use in order to solve injustice.
Eric: Interesting. This is also a support because there's healing hands. So, it's like you have the Paladin stuff, where you can lay on hands. But you use it with a key.
Amanda: Mhmm.
Eric: I really like the fact that you can just do, like, pacifism.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Like, you need to just make people stop fighting.
Amanda: Like, at the sixth level, you have an emissary of peace, which you make a charisma check to calm violent emotions or to counsel peace.
Julia: That’s very good.
Amanda: So, I think it will be a very interesting foil to Julia's character.
Julia: If that’s the one I go for.
Eric: Yeah. And then you can cast sanctuary at will.
Amanda: Yes.
Julia: Wow.
Eric: Which is – which is like – so, you're a support monk, which is very interesting in terms of support, because, like, if someone runs up behind you, you can literally just punch him in the face.
Amanda: Right.
Brandon: What if a good politician?
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Like city councilman.
Amanda: Right.
Brandon: Or state council person.
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Julia: I like that this is Paladin monk. That's a really cool combo.
Amanda: Yeah, I didn't really want to lean all the way into, like, channeling divinity.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: But I do think that a character has a really strong grasp – beginning anti-Anara of right and wrong – of not just like let me be, you know, neutral in terms of the law. Like, someone who feels strongly that they have to uphold something, whether that's like the physical safety of a community or the kind of, like, safeguarding of, like, tradition or of morals.
Eric: This is so interesting, because like monks also – for those of you who haven't really played, you can use key points to do, like, superhuman feats. It’s like I'm imagining you're --
Amanda: I’m channeling civics to, like, do something.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: But it's like you jump 20 feet in the air and then you make someone else stop fighting. Like, that's insane.
Brandon: I mean, if I saw that I would stop fighting, too.
Eric: Right. Well, like, I think that is like truly the superhumanity that we're talking about.
Amanda: Yeah. Yeah.
Eric: That's wild.
Amanda: From a personal perspective, like, I thought I was gonna go into politics for a long time. Like, I'm, you know, oldest of four kids and then a kind of peacekeeper role legislating multitude in life. And I think it'd be interesting to kind of explore that in a slightly less high stakes way in D&D.
Brandon: Yeah.
Eric: This is like what Jessica Jones is if she, like, wasn't a misanthrope, right?
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Like, she's just, like, super-powered. Like, she's super strong and very athletic. But then, on the other hand, she's also a PI. And, like, you, on the other hand, you’re just like – you are a legislator.
Amanda: And I think Luke Cage, in a way, too where there is, like, being available for your community perspective and then, like, superhuman abilities to back that up. Or loose character from Unsleeping City --
Eric: Mhmm.
Amanda: -- where you are like a representative in Dimension 20 of the will and needs of a community. And you kind of like channel that responsibility to do things that others can't do.
Eric: Kingston Brown is a cleric of the city domain. So, he literally gets his powers from the city.
Amanda: So, that's my idea.
Eric: Cool. Let's do it again. I'm so hype.
Julia: I guess kind of going off of yours, Amanda --
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: -- I'll talk about what my support character kind of looks like.
Amanda: Great.
Julia: And I was very concerned as you started talking about your character because very much the way that I built around my support character is very similar in that they are very involved into the community and all that kind of thing. Like, I picture them being the kind of person who, one, they work in IT.
Amanda: Yay.
Julia: And, so, they help all of the little old ladies in their building kind of figure out like, “Okay. Oh, your grandson set up your, your WiFi password, and you don't know what the password is. Don’t worry. I'll figure it out for you.”
Amanda: Oh, cute.
Julia: That kind of thing.
Eric: Oh, 69 --
Brandon: And they type in password.
Eric: It’s 402069. Oh, of course, it is.
Amanda: How the hell do I remember those numbers? Don’t worry about it.
Julia: You know what, Mrs. Ramirez? Not a problem. Don't worry about it. I changed it to your grandson loves you. Yeah. I think, in order to kind of fit that – I was looking at the city domain since we mentioned it a little. I like it, but I am not in love with it. And one of the ones that Eric suggested was the forge domain, which is typically like blacksmith characters if we're talking about fantasy D&D. But I think --
Amanda: Oh, but not in City of the Future.
Julia: No. In the City of the Future, I'm thinking IT tech, like, out there, like, creating gadgets and, like --
Brandon: LOL, that’s so funny.
Julia: -- shields and stuff like that for people.
Amanda: Cool.
Julia: Because, you know, things get messy when people have superpowers. And they're there to kind of help people along. I also really liked the idea of them being either like first or second-generation American. Again, going Italian because that's my background. But, like, you know, talking to all the little babies and making sure everyone's doing okay --
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: -- and getting traded lasagna for IT tech information and stuff like that.
Eric: That's a good deal.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: That’s a good deal.
Julia: Password, love some lasagna.
Brandon: Oh, for lasagna.
Eric: I love that because that's just like technomancy.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Because that's the superpower.
Amanda: Brandon, my password is lasagna. You can't just say that.
Brandon: Oh, no. I ate your password, Amanda.
Amanda: Waaa.
Eric: Your password is a literal piece of lasagna.
Amanda: You don't use a wet noodle for Touch ID? Is that not?
Eric: Oh, my god.
Amanda: No?
Julia: But, yeah, kind of talking a little bit more about the inspiration for the character, I was thinking very much of Forge from X-Men, who, in the comics, is – and like it's a little problematic the way they wrote it. It’s like a Cherokee shaman who gives up his shaman practices and goes and, like, is drafted into the Vietnam War, I think or some sort of war. I don't remember which.
Amanda: God, what a revisionist history narrative.
Julia: And then discovers that his mutant power is, basically, he's able to create any technology he can think of. Like, kind of combining those two things while using the, the forge domain, I think would be --
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: -- an interesting --
Brandon: That’s very cool.
Julia: -- interesting play on it.
Eric: This is interesting. The channel divinity for the forge domain is artisan blessing.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: So, you literally can just make simple items.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: And we can talk about what a simple piece of technology is.
Julia: Right.
Eric: The other thing is the soul of the forge you get because of your mastery of the forge. You get resistance to fire damage.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: And then you get an extra bonus AC. We can also change that. Like, we can make techno damage if we make that too into a thing.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: So, that would be very cool.
Julia: I think that'd be fun.
Eric: Hell yeah.
Brandon: So, I will also talk about my support-ish character, I think. So, again, sort of my overall archetype here, I'm going to call it like sort of, like, the charmer. And I like this idea of sort of playing off the Purple Man, but like not bad.
Amanda: What’s a Purple Man?
Brandon: So, in Marvel and Jessica Jones --
Julia: David Tennant's character.
Brandon: David Tennant’s character.
Amanda: Oh, yeah.
Brandon: Yeah. He sort of, like, is able to convince people to do what he wants. I was thinking though more of like – because I, I do think I want to play like a lawful good character. And they're trying to do good in the community, especially in the community that they inhabit or they grew up in or whatever it is. Maybe this person – it could be a politician, but I like your politician better, Amanda. So, I think what could – they could be is they could be a literal therapist. They could be a psychic. But the framing of that, both of them, they, they are trying to do genuine good for people. So, the class I was looking at is, like, there's a school of enchantment as a wizard. There's the fear whisperer as a bard. So, like, the therapist could hear their fears.
Amanda: Yeah.
Brandon: Onomancy, which is another wizard, they're kind of like a secret finder. So, they, they know your “true name.” So you can sort of like be someone that they open up to. But the sort of – yeah, this person that people feel – don't know exactly why. But they feel like they can open up to. And then, in general, this person tries to help them by, like, saying – charming them to be like, “Oh, you should stop smoking.” But, obviously, we know that is sort of morally gray.
Julia: I think you could also kind of play with the idea of you can't convince anyone of anything they don't actually want to do, like, in their hearts.
Amanda: True.
Brandon: Yeah. Yeah. That's good.
Julia: Just some people get in their own head and can't convince themselves to do the thing that's best for them.
Brandon: Yeah. Well, I also think that, like, the characters alignment and personality would be, like, even if that's not true, they could be like, “Yeah, I don't do anything that people don't want.”
Amanda: Right.
Brandon: They tell me they want. It's just like habits are hard to break. So, I help them with their habit.
Amanda: Mhmm.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: I'm trying to think of the other time that I've seen this, because, like, Purple Man is a bad person and the embodiment of toxic masculinity. I think the other one was in the Umbrella Academy. There was the woman who could, like, suggest things to people, and then they would do it for her.
Julia: Oh, Whisperer, I think, is the code name.
Eric: Yeah. And then it made her into a movie star. So, like, I can see all the times when people abuse it. So, I think doing it in a different way.
Amanda: Yeah, but putting it to useful good. Really interesting.
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: I can see, like, a role where this is like elder care as well.
Brandon: Oh, that's great. Yeah, I like that.
Amanda: Kind of stuff. Like, being a kind of like – you know, just confidant and person that someone listens to.
Brandon: Yeah, that's really cool. I like that too. Yeah, definitely, like the fear whisperer, but I don't know if I want to play a bard. But the fear whisperer works really nicely with that.
Eric: I’ll allow it. Maybe. I'll think about it.
Amanda: So, my – I think this would actually be my either tank or punchy person. So, the only thing that I don't know how to do, home repair wise, is plumbing. I just have no idea. So, I think I would want to play a plumber. That'd be pretty fun because I think that the idea of a swarm keeper ranger is really fascinating. So, a swarm keeper, you know, you can summon like rats or bees or someone to basically like – it's like a mage hand, but instead it's like a swarm of animals that, like – can come to your aid. But, in this case, I think mine would be water. And, so, it's, again, sort of like hacking a ranger to be a little bit more like a druid. And there's a world I think where this is an actual druid, but, especially if it's a city where we're like connected to like canals and riverways, if the Kind of inciting incident has something to do with water, I can see a world where my power is being like very connected to that. And, so, if we’re, like, exploring the city, there are like bricks over rivers everywhere. Maybe there's some kind of connection to that. Maybe it's like, you know, you can summon water. And that's kind of your main way of, like, damaging others. And I think it could be neat if my cover story is like being a plumber or like an infrastructural engineer. And, and that's just like the thing that I have domain over.
Brandon: Oops, the pipe broke.
Amanda: Uh-uh.
Eric: Just so everyone knows, the swarm keeper is also in Unearthed Arcana. And the Ranger, we can just talk about this right now. Traditionally, the ranger does not make sense for D&D campaigns, especially on a microphone.
Brandon: Mhmm.
Eric: The Ranger was created for, like, an older style of D&D where it's like you have different terrain. And you need to hunt for your food. And, like, you need to navigate and all that stuff. But, in a different part of UA, they have had like updated versions of the ranger.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: An updated version of the ranger has been released in one of the other books. I can't remember which one. So, like, having a viable ranger would be very interesting.
Amanda: I mean it's very physical.
Eric: Exactly.
Amanda: Like, I get how it's a ranger.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: And I think a druid version of this could be like the Circle of Land, which is all about keeping balance. And, so, it would be like this is how – like, protecting the environment. Like, this is how it's supposed to be. And, if new building projects are threatening that balance somehow, it's all about kind of like keeping what is. But I also don't want to commit totally to, like, a character that is only defending stasis. I think we could kind of chart a middle course.
Eric: I am 100 percent onboard with water being your swarm. The only thing left to talk about is like, if you wanted to fly. But, like, we can – we can definitely do this. The level three feature is called gathered swarm.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: And you just get a swarm of your spirits. They're just, like, tiny. So, they're like bugs or their little rats. So, like --
Amanda: Like, just, just a little globule of water. Bye, friend. And then you just set it --
Eric: It’s just like a river. Yeah.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: I love that.
Brandon: You could be a surfing Pikachu.
Amanda: That's true. I am from the sandy crumbling shores of Long Island. And it's in me.
Brandon: This is unrelated. But I was reading that, one, because it was really cool. And I did think that it'd be really fun to play a vampire in some campaign where you have a swarm of bats around you.
Julia: I think – apparently, we're all way too similar, because that was one of my ones that didn't make it. Except, I was gonna use it as like – you know how with a traditional ranger, you know, you're calling it like – I don't know – cool animals.
Eric: Like --
Julia: But you live in a city. So, all you got are like rats and cockroaches.
Amanda: Bees.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah, gross.
Eric: That's what they did with the Circle of Shepherd in Dimension. 20.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Brian Murphy, he was a Circle of Shepherds. And he conjured like cockroaches, and rats, and disgusting shit. And he was also a rat-man. So, it was beautiful. He lived in the sewer.
Julia: I will say I wrote that down. And then I watched Unsleeping city. And I was like, “Uh, nope.” Brian Murphy stole my idea.
Amanda: I also did think about a swarm of bees.
Julia: Obviously.
Amanda: And, A, I could talk about bees a lot, which I really enjoy.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: Bee. It's all about bees. It's all about, like, maintaining, you know, environmental balance --
Julia: Yeah.
Brandon: Yeah.
Amanda: -- and like native pollinators and stuff.
Brandon: You could be an urban beekeeper on the rooftop.
Eric: If you don’t want to do water, you could definitely do bees. I’d let you do bees.
Amanda: Aww. Bees would be very good. And I think I could – yeah. Then maybe it's – you know, maybe my role is like a farmer, groundskeeper of the land. And my bees can attack them.
Eric: That sounds great.
Brandon: No one ever expects bees.
Amanda: Bees.
Eric: Bees?
Brandon: A box of bees.
Eric: I like to know that you know every bee's name. That's so much – that one jarred me.
Amanda: Galadriel, go.
Eric: Just one bee.
Julia: Amanda, do you have popcorn?
Amanda: I do. I have cheddar, caramel, and regular, and a bowl with a divider. So, you have three little pockets.
Julia: Oh, my gosh. You and the dividers. I love it.
Amanda: All right. Let me – let me get it. One second. One second.
Midroll Music
Amanda: Hey, it's Amanda. In this time of changing seasons and fluctuating temperatures, I'm appreciating more than ever the combination of luck and planning that is being perfectly dressed for your day. I'm talking really well-constructed layers, perfect footwear choices, exactly the right coat, and pants that still feel comfortable somehow even at the end of a long day. Welcome to the Midroll. That scarf in your bag doubles as a blanket. To kick things off, thank you to everybody who has joined our Patreon; Holy Donut Boy, Evan Munez, Stacy Landon, Samantha Clell, Mel, Ashley, Evelina, Hector, Donna, Mr. Ball, Professor Mack Live, Kira, and Chad. You're just in time because we're doing something really special for the start of Campaign 2. To immortalize everybody who's decided to support art they love with their human dollars, we are going to read the name of every single Join the Party patron in the credits of Episode 1 of Campaign 2. That means anybody who is an active patron on March 31st, 2020, both our current crew who have been with us and anyone who joins in the next couple of weeks, we'll get their name immortalized in the credits of the first episode of Campaign 2. I'm gonna read every single name. It's going to take probably about six minutes. And I'm extremely excited. Join on March 31st at patreon.com/jointhepartypod for access to our patron-only Discord bonus materials for both campaigns, even early access to episodes. All that and more at patreon.com/jointhepartypod. We are sponsored this week by Hero Forge. Hero Forge offers fully customizable tabletop miniatures with dozens of fantasy races and thousands of parts to choose from. We love ours. And we know that you're going to love yours too. Make them a part of your home campaign. Visit heroforge.com to start designing your custom miniature today and check back often since new stuff is added every week. That's heroforge.com. Now, it's time to welcome a great new sponsor to Join the Party, gc2b. This is the original chest binder designed by trans people for the community. Gc2b is a gender and identity affirming apparel company started in 2014 by Marley Washington, a trans man of color, whose goal was to create something safe, accessible, and comfortable for people of all shapes, sizes, and colors. Their binder is available in several styles and lengths, five shades of mood as well as seven other colors. So, there truly is something for everyone. They even have two shipping warehouses to try to serve the entire globe, one in the US and one in the UK, which you can access directly at gc2b.io. From their sizing support to donating binders to people in need every year, this is truly a company that deserves your support. You can even get 10 percent off your order on gc2b.co with the code, Join the Party, at checkout. That's gc2b.co and the code, Join the Party. We'll see you again next week with our third pregame episode. There's one more pregame after that. And then, on April 7, Campaign 2 begins. But, for now, let's get back to the World Building.
Theme Music
Amanda: Don't worry. I'm back. Here's the popcorn.
Julia: Oh, it's steaming hot.
Amanda: Yay.
Eric: Oh, no, I ate all of it.
Brandon: Oh, no, the carb was way too high.
Eric: Aaah! I can't speak. Good thing I got my extra mouth from my car, and, now, we can continue.
Julia: Yay.
Eric: All right. Let's do our last round because I need more. I need more in my life.
Julia: Okay.
Amanda: Um, um, um, um, um.
Julia: So, this one I wrote kind of before we came up with the world idea. And I'm not entirely sure it’s going to work in, like, the relationship that we established between our characters. But I really liked this idea. And I, I – again, this harkens back to my love of the X-Men, but, like, someone whose powers, you know, like, overtake them. And, so, they don't like – basically, so, my idea is the character themselves is not the one with powers, but rather, like, one of their loved ones got their powers. But then the powers meant they were confined to a thing, in this case, a computer or a smartphone.
Amanda: Hmmm.
Eric: Hmmm.
Julia: Instead of like this character being the one that has the traditional powers in a sense, they gain their powers from utilizing their loved one's ability to control computers and, you know, electric stuff and whatnot. Kind of like Joaquin Phoenix’s Her meets Full Metal Alchemist --
Amanda: Hmmm.
Julia: -- in a lot of ways.
Amanda: Or like a staff. Like, channeling power through a staff.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: I do think this still fits.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: Because this could be like, again, my Hero Academia, where, like, just because there is a tradition of people who get powers, you could also not have powers.
Julia: Yes.
Eric: And, now, your parents made you a thing to cover it up.
Julia: Yes.
Eric: Which could be tight as fuck.
Amanda: That’s really interesting.
Julia: Yeah. I really like that. So, the class and the subclass that I picked for this one is Warlock, but it's Ghosts in the Machine patron.
Eric: Oh, yeah.
Amanda: Cool.
Eric: Where's the Ghost of the Machine from?
Julia: It’s Unearthed Arcana, the Modern Magic section.
Eric: Oh, fuck.
Julia: It’s the same place as the city domain.
Eric: Goddamn.
Julia: And technomancy.
Amanda: That's very cool.
Eric: Go.
Julia: And that would be probably like damage dealer, because Warlock is usually, like, long-distance damage rather than getting into the fray damage.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Damn. I gotta look this thing up. I remember I spent so much time staring at the Modern Magic stuff. Modern Magic is also interesting. And there's an expanded spell list --
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: -- of hacking. And --
Julia: On/off is a really cool one.
Eric: Where you can just like turn --
Julia: And infallible relay is fun too.
Eric: On/off is wild.
Julia: I can call anyone as long as they're on the same plane as – of existences as me.
Amanda: That's extremely cool.
Julia: And once I, like, know them. Yeah.
Amanda: I like that.
Eric: Let's see.
Julia: Like cool scrying.
Eric: This is really interesting the way that they talk about modern magic because it's like about information --
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: -- and the way that, like, the internet is a hub of information.
Julia: Right.
Eric: So, you have, like, information surge, which, like, tells you about stuff. Wire Walk is also cool because you can --
Julia: Yes.
Eric: That's where you can travel short distances through wires.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: So, that would be wild.
Julia: That would be very cool.
Eric: So, that's another, like, type of technomancy. Also, again, very different from Warlock than Johnny was, because your patron isn't a god.
Julia: No.
Eric: It's a thing that you need to care for.
Julia: Oh, I --
Eric: Oh, I need you to – you're gonna have to draw to drop your phone.
Amanda: I --
Brandon: Hell fucking yeah.
Julia: So, the way that I was picturing I it --
Amanda: I get a pop socket. All advantages.
Julia: The way that I was picturing it is I really want the patron and the character to have, like, a relationship.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: In the sense that, like – I don't know. Maybe they started dating in college or something. And the character didn't know that their partner had powers --
Amanda: This whole thing. Yeah.
Julia: -- until their powers, like, overtook them. And, now, they're stuck in this iPhone or whatever.
Amanda: Oh, man. I love this.
Julia: Yeah.
Amanda: Can it be like an iPhone 3?
Julia: Eventually, they have to transfer over into an iWatch, Apple Watch.
Amanda: I love this one, Julia. But I really like this idea of being like the custodian of the source of your power --
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: And of having a relationship, which feels like it's a four-person party, you know.
Julia: Yeah. I, I do like it. I like the idea of it being a romantic relationship. I can be convinced otherwise, but that was my instinct going into it.
Amanda: Yeah, I like that.
Julia: Because, you know, do you stay with your loved one when they're only a iPhone now?
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: It's really interesting that the warlock invocation is just like the things you can do.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: Like, yeah, I can read everything. It's because my iPhone can translate everything.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: And that's very cool.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: That's – that's interesting.
Amanda: Deception everywhere.
Brandon: The translations are very poor though.
Eric: Yeah, it's – it's just Google translate. It's very funny.
Brandon: So, my last one is more of a straightforward tank, not super creative, but sort of two different paths I can go down here. Again, there's like sort of the, the Wolverine Way, which is the – it's a monk. And it's the Way of the Kensei. And that's when you basically, like, have complete mastery over a weapon. But I was thinking we could reskin it to be like something like Wolverine, where your weapons are internal or whatever it is.
Eric: For sure.
Brandon: And then the other side of it is also a monk, but it's the Way of the Astral Self. And I, I wrote it like the Astral Hulk.
Eric: Yeah.
Brandon: It’s like – I like that you sort of, like, gain pieces of yourself over time. So, it's like, “Oh, I have a – like an astral left arm that's really strong.” And then, eventually, you sort of, like, transform into the – something astral or you can make it like Johnny Storm or The Thing, where it's like pieces of you are transforming over time. And it's like, “My left arm is now like diamond skin or my – and then, like, it grows over time.”
Julia: Ooh.
Eric: I like that. I think that the imagery of the Astral Self is interesting. But turning that into any power is just fucking cool. That, like, you just have one really jacked arm. That's – uh, I just love that idea, because we haven't talked about this. And we'll get into this a little bit when we talk about race. It’s like what do you look like when you get your power? Lots of people look the same, but you could turn into The Thing.
Amanda: My farmer can always have just one bee around in the same room.
Eric: You keep your be in a pocket.
Julia: Oh, no.
Amanda: I want a little bee in a pocket.
Eric: Little bee in pocket!
Amanda: My final one was kind of the first one I came up with. A lot more straightforward. This would be just like a really well-rounded fighter. And this would be like a true, like, super or like caretaker. Like very well rounded. You have proficiency with a lot of different tools. I didn't find a subclass that I really loved. But I thought that I would ask everyone if you have a particular one that you like. But this would be more like – yeah, like, ambient awareness of problems. Like, you can assess a physical problem and, you know, fix it really quickly. But you can, obviously, also – like, I like the idea being kind of a, like, support or, like, a range fighter, where I could, like, you know, cut down one of the ropes holding that, like, tent up and, like, collapse it. Some kind of like environmental or structural based proficiency and damage.
Eric: Yeah, you – I mean, honestly, like, fighter is very diverse for a reason because you can choose things that you're good at. Like, you have battle maneuvers if you want to be a Battle Master, which is just the regular ones. There's a sharpshooter in UA that you could choose to be if you wanted to be range. Like, you can totally specialize in range stuff.
Julia: Be a cowboy. Be a cowboy.
Brandon: Cowboy. Cowboy. Cowboy.
Amanda: It's true.
Eric: I mean, listen, Green Arrow exists and so does Hawkeye.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: And there are better versions of them than the ones that are on our television and movie screens.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: So, like a range person who's very cool and stuff, that would be more of like the damage dealer. But I think that like, if you wanted to target – like, I have ACs for everything on my DM screen.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: So, like if you wanted to target stuff and then have that damage that you can just like say, like, “That's my battle style.” And I will make sure to prepare that. The other thing – and I know we were looking at this before, but like the rune keeper fighter --
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: -- which like you, you put, like, buffs literally on yourself.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Tattoos.
Eric: Yeah. Or just like Shulk in Super Smash Bros.
Amanda: Or you can, like, engrave your tools with different kinds of runes. And I, I think that would probably be the subclass that makes the most sense to really, like, imbue your tools with, like, special powers and to have a set of tools that you, you know – and I'm using that as in like, like the small – the small t-tools. Like, use hand tools as my weapons. Like, I always have my kit with, like, my multi-tool and my, you know, hammer --
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: -- and my screwdriver with me, which you can, like, stab into someone if you really wanted to. But, just thinking of like, yeah, those kinds of creative attacks and using the kind of rune keeper to channel like particular proficiency with those things.
Eric: The other thing about the rune keeper is that it's supposed to be like giant language. But, similar to the way that Julia was, like, you could just be Irish. You could just be gay. Like --
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Which is very funny to me.
Amanda: Yeah. Or stones and maybe it is the kind of bricklayer flavor of that.
Eric: Yeah.
Amanda: But it would be – it would be fun for me. And I know it sounds the least baked of all of my – but this was kind of my original idea of you're around to like take care of everybody's issues. And then you don't necessarily want to turn those into violence, but preventative violence means that you prevent problems. Like, that is a very driving force, I think, for this person.
Eric: I think that the fighter also gives you stuff in that just the class itself to buff your damage because it is a damage dealer.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: But we can also talk about your feats. So, let's talk about race. The majority of you are probably going to be humans. And I think, if you want to be a human, you should be a variant human. So, the difference between a human and a variant human when you're making your character is that the human traditionally just has plus one to all six of the stats. But, if you want to be a very human, you get plus one to two stats and you get a feat. And a feat is just like, “I'm good at this one thing. And I got a buff to my character very specifically.” If you remember from the last campaign, this was Mike's monk. I just like gave him the shit-talking feat. And, like, that's the thing that he's good at. So, you could totally have like a sharpshooter feat. You could have like – I don't know – any sort of damage dealing. And we can really look through that in the player – in the player handbook and beyond. The other thing about race is – and this is related to the conversation we were having about the astral monk – is that like, if your power changed you into looking like something else, let's re-skin a different race. Like, that would make you into like a hat. We could give you half orc stats, Brandon. And then go from there. Or, like, if you are someone – maybe, if we make this more watery – we don't have to. But, if you wanted to, you have gills and, like, you’re a merfolk. And we reskin that. So, it's like you are a monstrous version of humanity. And then you deal with that visually if that's something you want to entertain in your character.
Julia: Mhmm.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: So, I'm very excited about that, both from the feats perspective and like looking different and how your powers affect how you look. Cool. You guys have cool ideas.
Julia: I’m so excited.
Eric: Now, I want to talk about the podcast itself. This is still Join the Party. Hello. Welcome.
Amanda: Hi. It’s a podcast.
Brandon: Hello.
Eric: Hey, hi. Hello. Welcome to the podcast.
Amanda: It is important to us that we stay biweekly/fortnightly. What up, Brits? So, we are going to be releasing episodes every other week. And then we also love the Afterparty. We want to do it. But, in the previous campaign, what we would do is play D&D for like a couple of hours. And then, you know, take a break to use bathroom and get water, and then come back and record the Afterparty. And it ended up feeling not like an exciting thing that we wanted to, like, come to the table, talk about what's happening, like, check-in with all of you. But it felt like, “Oh, no, I have to do this before I go home.” And we didn't want to, like, bring that energy to you all. And we know that you all don't want us to feel as if this is, you know, a slog and not like a delightful thing. So, for that reason, we are going to record after parties every two episodes. So, it's like, you know, Episode, two weeks, episode and then, a week after that, Afterparty. So, it will be --
Eric: They’ll be off week.
Amanda: Exactly. In the off week, every other episode. So, roughly once a month after parties and two to three times a month episodes.
Eric: The other thing that I'm truly excited about that we learn from doing the Afterparty At the End of the World and the Afterparty After the End of the World is, like, we want your questions. Like, we want everyone to be caught up and then listen to the Afterparty. We record these game’s episodes a while in the future. And, like, we want to come back to them and think about the things that we now noticed. And we want you to notice it too. The Afterparty episodes are also going to be, like, feel, like, full episodes. It's not just a bonus that we're attaching to regular campaign episodes.
Amanda: So, it'll be – yeah – like, more than 30 minutes long, because we want to make sure that, again, we're not just kind of like on our own doing a quota and, like, me asking, you know, Eric, and my fellow players questions about how the episode when. But we want to be sure that we record them after you've had a chance to listen to the episode. And we can talk, not just about your episode reactions and questions and our kind of, like, behind-the-scenes process, but also like what's happening in D&D. Like, we never got to talk on the show about all of these interesting Xanathars and UA and, like, all these other things that are coming out in the D&D world or, like, RPGs that we're really enjoying. So, we want to make sure that we save some time and we can be kind of more contemporaneous than after parties have been in the past. So, if there's stuff that you would really love to see us talk about as like a segment or on a recurring basis, we’re open to hearing your thoughts. But we definitely want to make sure these after parties are, like, part, you know, D&D chat show and part Afterparty as you know and love.
Eric: Also, it helps that we just chose like 75 percent Unearthed Arcana. We just totally gonna change. It seems like D&D is gonna release a new book any day now.
Julia: Mhmm.
Eric: So, who knows if that's gonna affect our characters and as we like rework them to fit the definitive versions that are gonna be in the new books. Also, we have three players again.
Julia: Yay.
Brandon: Yay.
Amanda: Yay.
Eric: That's our biggest change. I don't know if you noticed, but Julia is here.
Julia: It’s me.
Amanda: Yay.
Brandon: I'm excited.
Eric: I'm excited.
Brandon: I want to make character Eric.
Eric: I have to do research into, like, hockey, and like waterways, and like how cities grow. I am excited. I don't know if we're going to do this at another pregame episode. But, like, I would love to try to build the city out with all of you.
Amanda: Yeah.
Eric: Like, maybe we can play A Quiet Year or like use parts of A Quiet Year to --
Amanda: Let’s do it.
Eric: -- fill out the map a little bit.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: But like I love cities that have very defined neighborhoods. Like, some parts of New York City does this. I know Pittsburgh does this a lot. Portland does a lot like this too. Very – make sure every place in the city is different and definably so, both your architecture and like vibe and what they have. And I'm very excited about all of that.
Amanda: Yeah. Can we have the Gulch?
Eric: Yeah, we'll put in the Gulch. The place where the – where the highway used to be and, now, it's high-speed trains. It's the reverse Gulch.
Brandon: Love it. Fish market, I want a fish market.
Julia: There’s gotta be a fish market.
Eric: We can – if there's water, we'll do it. I need to like – I'm gonna make the rough map. And I think we'll fill it in.
Julia: Okay.
Eric: But I would love to play that in the coming weeks.
Julia: I can't wait to find out what the, like, well-known food is.
Brandon: Oh, yeah.
Julia: Like, it's not pizza and bagels. What is it?
Eric: I don't – that's great. I will --
Brandon: It’s pizza bagels.
Amanda: Poutine Ice Cream Sundae.
Brandon: Ooh.
Eric: There’s not gonna be a lot of Canadian influence up there.
Amanda: Yeah.
Julia: Yeah.
Eric: Absolutely. Oh, I'm so excited.
Julia: Elk burgers.
Amanda: What are --
Eric: Maybe. Like, it's a Juicy Lucy, but it's with elk.
Julia: Mhmm. Oooh.
Amanda: Eww.
Julia: Ooh, yummy.
Eric: That'd be cool.
Amanda: I don't like that word.
Eric: It's the --
Amanda: No, I know. I just don't like it.
Eric: No, I don't like it either.
Amanda: What are – what are the Tim Hortons munchkins called? Like --
Eric: Timbits.
Amanda: -- Timbly Tomblies?
Julia: Timbits.
Eric: Timbits.
Brandon: Timbly Tomblies.
Eric: Oh, my god.
Julia: Timbly Tomblies, that’s what they call it now.
Brandon: Yep, that’s what it is.
Eric: Yeah, they’re Timbly Tomblies. Yeah.
Julia: Okay.
Amanda: Well, anyway, I think a bunch of those in a waffle cone could be cool.
Eric: Oh, shit.
Amanda: That’s – that’s just – that’s just where I'm coming from right now.
Eric: That's just where I'm living guys.
Amanda: Oh, well, with visions of Timbly Tomblies dancing through my head. Thanks everyone for listening. We are so excited. And we'll catch you next time.
Brandon: Bye.
Julia: Bye.
Amanda: Bye.
Eric: You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. But you can, because we're still doing free gifts. The party is still happening. Don't leave yet.
Amanda: Someone brought doughnuts.
Eric: Tim – someone brought Timbly Tomblies.
Julia: Amanda, we're out of popcorn.
Amanda: Oh, no.
Eric: Don't worry. I brought Timbly Tomblies. I just got chocolate and cinnamon because I know that’s what everybody likes.
Julia: Oh, my god. I like the jelly ones.
Amanda: I like the jellies.
Transcriptionist: Rachelle Rose Bacharo
Editor: Krizia Casil